Published: Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 7:35 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 10:46 p.m.

Mike Dinardo stood at the bottom of a 15-foot pit Thursday peering into a gopher tortoise burrow.

The environmental consultant was searching a field northwest of Sanford for gopher tortoises, so the animals could be moved to another location and out of the pathway of construction of the long-awaited Wekiva Parkway. Any one of more than a hundred species of wildlife could come crawling out of the hole at any moment.

The $1.7 billion parkway, which will complete the northwestern section of the beltway loop around Orlando, has been planned for more than 20 years. The eastern half of the loop was completed in 2002, when State Road 417 was connected to Interstate 4 in Sanford.

For many Volusia and Flagler residents, the new toll road will provide much easier access to Lake County and points north, including the Florida Turnpike, allowing them to avoid congestion on Interstate 4 through downtown Orlando.

Construction on the first of eight sections of the roadway — a 3.14 mile stretch from County Road 435 in Orange County to State Road 46 — will begin in February and is expected to be completed in 18 months. The entire 25-mile project is projected to be finished in 2021.

This portion of the beltway, the 25 miles from Apopka to Sanford, has been the most controversial from the beginning because of its proximity to the environmentally sensitive Wekiva River.

The Wekiva flows into the St. Johns River near DeBary. It is a nationally designated Wild and Scenic River and includes 42 miles of flowing water and at least 34 named springs.

By 2002, the state had already spent more than $139 million to acquire thousands of acres along the river, to protect its water quality and to provide a protected area for the many threatened and endangered species along the river. The area is home to a large population of black bears.

Gov. Jeb Bush appointed a task force of state and local officials and environmental advocates in 2003 to hash out a compromise. Their recommendations to design the road, protect the area and manage pollution and storm water were completed in March 2004 and adopted into law by the Legislature as the Wekiva Parkway and Protection Act. Since then, more than 3,400 acres of additional land has been set aside in conservation to make way for the road development.

Much of the yet-to-be-designed highway is scheduled to be elevated and will include "numerous" wildlife bridges. By law, the expressway, a joint project of the Florida Department of Transportation and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, will have only seven interchanges.

County Councilwoman Pat Northey predicted Thursday that the roadway will be "well used."

"If they can build an environmentally sound parkway, it's going to be a good thing for Volusia County," said Northey. "Driving through Orlando on I-4 is a disaster anymore."

More than 800 feet of this first section of roadway will be elevated above a floodplain.

Not only does lifting this section and others protect the wetland areas, it also means the wetlands don't have to be filled in, said Mark DeLorenzo, a Seabreeze High School graduate who works for the construction management company Jacobs. The project manager for Jacobs, Robert Parker, is a Port Orange resident.

Dinardo, with the firm CT3S-Stantec, and others conducted an environmental survey along this section of the project, off Mount Plymouth Road northwest of Sanford, and found more than 260 gopher tortoise burrows.

Not all of the burrows are active, and the crews expect to find maybe 150 tortoises, a protected species. By Wednesday, they had found 41 tortoises, which will be relocated to a site in Okeechobee County. Each burrow excavation takes roughly an hour. The complete excavation and relocation is projected to cost about $100,000.

As a gaggle of reporters and photographers watched his progress Thursday, Dinardo said he always thinks about what might be at the bottom of a burrow. He's found several Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes over the years.

He's seen at least one on this job site and fully expects to find at least one while excavating the burrows.

"I use to just catch them and put them in a bag," he said. "But now I'm a father and I don't do that anymore."

<p>Mike Dinardo stood at the bottom of a 15-foot pit Thursday peering into a gopher tortoise burrow. </p><p>The environmental consultant was searching a field northwest of Sanford for gopher tortoises, so the animals could be moved to another location and out of the pathway of construction of the long-awaited Wekiva Parkway. Any one of more than a hundred species of wildlife could come crawling out of the hole at any moment. </p><p>The $1.7 billion parkway, which will complete the northwestern section of the beltway loop around Orlando, has been planned for more than 20 years. The eastern half of the loop was completed in 2002, when State Road 417 was connected to Interstate 4 in Sanford. </p><p>For many Volusia and Flagler residents, the new toll road will provide much easier access to Lake County and points north, including the Florida Turnpike, allowing them to avoid congestion on Interstate 4 through downtown Orlando. </p><p>Construction on the first of eight sections of the roadway &mdash; a 3.14 mile stretch from County Road 435 in Orange County to State Road 46 &mdash; will begin in February and is expected to be completed in 18 months. The entire 25-mile project is projected to be finished in 2021. </p><p>This portion of the beltway, the 25 miles from Apopka to Sanford, has been the most controversial from the beginning because of its proximity to the environmentally sensitive Wekiva River. </p><p>The Wekiva flows into the St. Johns River near DeBary. It is a nationally designated Wild and Scenic River and includes 42 miles of flowing water and at least 34 named springs. </p><p>By 2002, the state had already spent more than $139 million to acquire thousands of acres along the river, to protect its water quality and to provide a protected area for the many threatened and endangered species along the river. The area is home to a large population of black bears. </p><p>Gov. Jeb Bush appointed a task force of state and local officials and environmental advocates in 2003 to hash out a compromise. Their recommendations to design the road, protect the area and manage pollution and storm water were completed in March 2004 and adopted into law by the Legislature as the Wekiva Parkway and Protection Act. Since then, more than 3,400 acres of additional land has been set aside in conservation to make way for the road development. </p><p>Much of the yet-to-be-designed highway is scheduled to be elevated and will include "numerous" wildlife bridges. By law, the expressway, a joint project of the Florida Department of Transportation and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority, will have only seven interchanges. </p><p>County Councilwoman Pat Northey predicted Thursday that the roadway will be "well used." </p><p>"If they can build an environmentally sound parkway, it's going to be a good thing for Volusia County," said Northey. "Driving through Orlando on I-4 is a disaster anymore." </p><p>More than 800 feet of this first section of roadway will be elevated above a floodplain. </p><p>Not only does lifting this section and others protect the wetland areas, it also means the wetlands don't have to be filled in, said Mark DeLorenzo, a Seabreeze High School graduate who works for the construction management company Jacobs. The project manager for Jacobs, Robert Parker, is a Port Orange resident. </p><p>Dinardo, with the firm CT3S-Stantec, and others conducted an environmental survey along this section of the project, off Mount Plymouth Road northwest of Sanford, and found more than 260 gopher tortoise burrows. </p><p>Not all of the burrows are active, and the crews expect to find maybe 150 tortoises, a protected species. By Wednesday, they had found 41 tortoises, which will be relocated to a site in Okeechobee County. Each burrow excavation takes roughly an hour. The complete excavation and relocation is projected to cost about $100,000. </p><p>As a gaggle of reporters and photographers watched his progress Thursday, Dinardo said he always thinks about what might be at the bottom of a burrow. He's found several Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes over the years. </p><p>He's seen at least one on this job site and fully expects to find at least one while excavating the burrows. </p><p>"I use to just catch them and put them in a bag," he said. "But now I'm a father and I don't do that anymore." </p><p>Under the media spotlight Thursday, all Dinardo found were crickets.</p>